SPRINGFIELD - John Royce of Springfield died at his home on December 1, 2003. He was born in Worcester, MA and has been a resident of Springfield as well as Winchester, New Hampshire. He was a former teacher at Thayer High School in Winchester, New Hampshire. He was a graduate of Worcester State College Class of 1966. He was a Navy veteran serving during the Vietnam Era. He was also a member of St. Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church of Springfield. He leaves his cherished wife, Christine Royce of Tucson, Arizona; 2 loving sons, Jonathan Royce of Tuscon, Arizona & Nicholas Royce of Sacramento, California; 2 dear daughters, Joanna Royce-Davis of Sacramento, California, Veronica Schreiver of Elk Grove, California; 6 dearest grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. The funeral will be held from the Springfield Funeral Home, 130 Carew St., Thursday morning December 4, 2003, followed by service in Sts. Peter & Paul Russian Orthodox Church at 10 a.m. Burial in Notre Dame Cemetery, Worcester, MA. Visiting hours will be Wednesday evening December 3, 2003 6 to 8 p.m. Donations may be made to Sts. Peter & Paul Russian Orthodox Church, 118 Carew St., Springfield, MA 01104. Published in The Republican on 12/3/2003.

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"Him whom the heavenly hosts glorify and before Whom Cherubim and Seraphim tremble, let every breath and all creation praise, bless and exalt throughout all ages."

I last 'spoke' to John on Saturday when he was anticipating being at Liturgy on Sunday and receiving Holy Unction afterwards.

Grant him peace among Your saints, O Christ. Eternal Memory.

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"Never let anyone try to tell you that, in order to be Orthodox, you must also be eastern. The West was fully Orthodox for a thousand years; and her venerable liturgy is far older than any of her heresies."- St. John Maximovitch

"If we truly think of Christ as our source of holiness, we shall refrain from anything wicked or impure in thought or act and thus show ourselves to be worthy bearers of his name. For the quality of holiness is shown not by what we say but by what w

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord. And may perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

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"Where I live in Manhattan and where I work at ABC, people say 'conservative' the way people say 'child molester.' Leftist thinking is just the culture that I live in and the culture the reporters who populate the mainstream media

Now where were we? Oh yeah - the important thing was I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t have white onions because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones...

It's hard to believe it. We will miss you here, John, but may we have a reasonable hope that we will see you again. We remain brothers in Christ, who is the God of the living. Your work here was valuable. Memory Eternal!

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"When looking at faults, use a mirror, not a telescope."-Yazid Ibrahim

WOW! It's hard to type this because the tears are coming so fast! John and I have been cyber friends for many years now.

This is one of those times we all have to remember -

"That God is too kind to be cruel, and too wise to make mistakes!"

O good Lord, remember your servant John and forgive him in all which he erred in his life, for no one is without sin except you who have power to grant rest to the departed.

In your divine wisdom and in your love for mankind, you bestow all things and provide for all the needs of mankind. Creator, rest the soul of your servant John who has placed his hope in you. O Lord, the Fashioner, the Creator and our God.

Among the saints, O Christ, give rest to the soul of thy servant John, where there is neither pain, sickness nor sighing, but life everlasting!

MEMORY ETERNAL!

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Orthodoc

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Oh Lord, Save thy people and bless thine inheritance.Grant victory to the Orthodox Christians over their adversaries.And by virtue of thy Cross preserve thy habitation.

I attend John's former parish in New Hampshire which he loved quite a bit. I sent out an email to the parish on-line list notifying them of this untimely news.

I did not know John personally, but I did correspond with him and he was always very charitable. My only physical connection with him are some books that he donated to my parish...I have read some and consider them to be holy relics: who knows when there is a saint among us online!

Internet forums can be strange places. Someone may stray onto a site, register as MDF46PQ and post away. We don't know if MDF46PQ is a male or female, what age, faith, etc. MDF46PQ may post something that we don't agree with and we attack as if MDF46PQ is not a person. Then MDF46PQ goes away, never to be heard of again. I guess I just find it odd.

Thankfully Vicki posted his obituary. Who knows who else has passed on that we once corresponded with online?

John, we will pray for you...pray for us also!

Greg

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Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. - Philippians 4:8

Is there anyway of sending flowers or a tribute or whatever is appropriate for an EO funeral from the Forum? Or letters to his wife and family? If it wouldn't be offensive I'll put his name on Sunday Prayers at our church...

I hope he was able to listen to the latest Harry Potter book...he was so happy when I told him it was available last summer.

Ebor :'(

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"I wish they would remember that the charge to Peter was "Feed my sheep", not "Try experiments on my rats", or even "Teach my performing dogs new tricks". - C. S. Lewis

Since John's funeral is now over I have been wondering how we could show his wife how we all appreciated him.

The suggsestion of a special page with an Icon on it is a good one - we could add our tributes and memories of John to that. Perhaps it could be printed out afterwards and given to the Family .

Any other suggestions ?

Anhelyna

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"Never let anyone try to tell you that, in order to be Orthodox, you must also be eastern. The West was fully Orthodox for a thousand years; and her venerable liturgy is far older than any of her heresies."- St. John Maximovitch

Among the trees of Paradise, sleep charmed me and I slept.A wind breathed and the trees were stirredAnd a sweet voice fell on my ears,And I knew that my sins were forgiven.

A few days ago, Vicki and the Slave expressed concern to me that they hadn't heard from John in a while, and they were worried, so I sent him an email hoping he'd answer by the end of the week, and if not, then I/we'd figure out what to do next. I thought maybe he just wasn't using his computer, and eventually he would, since he seemed (to me, anyway) optimistic about coming out of this. So it was a terrible shock to me when, seconds before shutting off my cell before entering church for Divine Liturgy this morning, I got a call from Vicki telling me that John had passed, and that today was his funeral. I haven't been the same since, but I am thankful that God gave me the opportunity to be in church today to pray for him especially, and for his family, and for all of us here who mourn his loss. John was someone who through his words and actions served for me as a model of what an Orthodox Christian should be, and I know I will truly miss him.

Our fathers and brethren have departed from this life.Until the Day of the Resurrection comes for those who sleep,give rest, Lord, to their souls in Your abode of Light, And may their bones be quickened on the Day of Your Coming.When Your command raises up the race of the earthly Adam,May they be clothed with honour and glory, And enter with You the bridal chamber,And offer praise to You Who are their Resurrection.

Mor Ephrem is a nice guy. Just say sorry and it will all be ok. Say I had things that were inside troubling me but I didn't know how to express appropriately. I will not behave that way again but I am seeking help.

In our cold world this is a reminder that our friends, our wives, our co-workers, even ourselves can pass from this world to the next at any time. Slow down and remind everyone of their eternal meaning!

Thank you, God, for these cleansing tears!

Let's pray that the Lord establishes his soul where the just repose!

Hypo-Ortho, forgive me if I hurt you with any posting!

And people wonder if our prayers for the dead are meaningful!?! Father Alexander Schmemann remarked that the protestants who do not pray for the dead miss out on so much -- how right he was!

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"Anything that is worth accomplishing cannot be accomplished in a lifetime." - the Holy Fathers

John was a great source of encouragement to me. In private messages to me he always did his best to uplift me, yet never considered himself, despite his many years as an Orthodox Christian, to be anything special.

What a sad day. During Great Lent last year, I had the opportunity to travel to Springfield to meet John in person, and sadly, I had to cancel that trip. I am now truly saddened that I never had a chance to meet this wonderful man in person. Only through the internet was I able to get to know him, and how blessed I feel that I was able to know him, even in the virtual form.

I think one of my favorite memories of John was when he first called me Frobie. Even when the day is going slow thinking of him saying that always cheered me up. I am in full agreement with the others in saying that John was a fine example of what an Orthodox Christian should be. Memory eternal!

I can't express my feelings at the moment, John was a true Orthodox brother to me and I will greatly miss him.

May the most clement Virgin Mary, Mother of God, the most loving consoler of the afflicted, commend to Her Son, the soul of His servant John, so that through her maternal intercession he may not fear the terrors of death, but in her company may joyfully enter the desired heavenly home.

james

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An old timer is a man who's had a lot of interesting experiences -- some of them true.

Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.

This is truly sad news for us that he left behind. His wife and children are in my thoughts and prayers. We who are left behind miss you very, very much. You made such a difference in the lives of many people in your time on this Earth.

:'( This has ruined my whole day. I cannot believe how hard it has hit me.

For some reason I keep hearing Enya's Only Time when I look at that image that David made.

John and I had some serious disagreements over the years, but in the end there was still a respect between us, as we could be friends even though we disagreed on doctrine or politics.

I will remember forever some of the last words he spoke to me, "You were helpful to me more than once, and I value the rapport we developed."

He did not carry himself like he was 63, but more like someone in his 40's. There was a youthful spirit about him. I am saddened that not only did we not know how bad off he really was but that we found out too late to even pay last respects at his funeral. If anyone knows where he is buried I would like to meet up and go visit his grave with anyone interested.

It has taken me almost 30 minutes just to write this little and I cannot type anything more because I am just crying too hard. Memory Eternal John. I miss you! Goodbye my friend. Goodbye. :'(

Mor Ephrem is a nice guy. Just say sorry and it will all be ok. Say I had things that were inside troubling me but I didn't know how to express appropriately. I will not behave that way again but I am seeking help.